Jack Layton, here

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 5:39 PM - 0 Comments

The NDP leader is concerned you might not be able to heat your snowbound farmhouse this winter.

Ontario and British Columbia get their own regionally specific graphics. All will apparently start appearing on television tomorrow.

The Backbench Top Ten

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 1:31 PM - 0 Comments

Our weekly, and wholly arbitrary, ranking of the ten most worthy, or at least entertaining, MPs, excluding the Prime Minister, cabinet members and party leaders. A celebration of all that is great and ridiculous about the House of Commons. Last week’s rankings appear in parentheses. Continue…

This week has four sketches

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 11:20 AM - 0 Comments

Our weekly look back at all we saw and heard.

Monday. A matter of principle
Tuesday. Derek from Toronto and other expressions of democracy
Wednesday. Sound economic theory
Thursday. Who loves ya, baby?

Randy Quaid and wife fear "Hollywood star whackers"

By macleans.ca - Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 7:41 PM - 0 Comments

Actor Randy Quaid and his wife feel their lives are in danger, and have told an immigration hearing in Vancouver that they need asylum in Canada. This followed the Thursday arrest of the couple in Vancouver’s Kerisdale neighbourhood, where the pair were brought in on outstanding warrants from the United States. Brian Tsuji, the Quaids’ lawyer, read a single-line statement to reporters after the hearing: “We are requesting asylum from Hollywood star whackers.” The pair, who were released after each paid $10,000 bail, say that eight of their friends—including Heath Ledger and David Carradine—have been killed in mysterious ways and they fear that they are next.

The Vaughan referendum

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 6:40 PM - 0 Comments

Three by-elections are now reportedly expected to see votes next month, perhaps most notably the riding of Vaughan—a Liberal seat to be sought by a “star” Conservative candidate in a hotly contested area of southern Ontario. An impartial Conservative sets up the contest as follows.

“We are obviously very excited about our candidate there, Julian Fantino, and it says a lot about our party that we are able to attract such a strong candidate,” a Conservative spokesperson said, speaking on background. “But at the end of the day, given that the Official Opposition should win by-elections and that this is a traditional safe Liberal seat, this is Ignatieff’s to lose.”

Rand Paul and the Mystery of Aqua Buddha

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 4:42 PM - 0 Comments

I haven’t said much about the TV ads coming out of the U.S. midterm election cycle, but this one is interesting enough that I couldn’t resist commenting on it. Brief background: Democrat Jack Conway is running for Senate in Kentucky against Republican Rand Paul (son of Ron). Kentucky, like many Southern states, is heavily Republican and is becoming more so (an example is Arkansas, where Democrats have been flailing ever since Bill Clinton left), and Paul has mostly abandoned or downplayed the views that bring him closer to his genuinely anti-government father — particularly on national security, where Rand usually sounds as hawkish as any regular Republican. So Paul has led comfortably in the polls for a long time now, and Conway seemed to have no shot.

He may still have no shot, but he’s a lot closer in the polls now than he used to be, and it’s because of this ad, the Hail Mary pass of the campaign in several different senses. The ad picks up on stories of what Rand Paul was in college: though he’s apparently not named after Ayn Rand, he is a big Rand fan, and was sort of the stereotype of the Randian fratboy. The point of the ad is not simply that there are rumours of him participating in nasty fratboy pranks; that’s not disqualifying. The point of the ad is, simply, to tell religious voters that Rand Paul is secretly godless and is playing them for suckers.

[vodpod id=Video.4687497&w=640&h=385&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

Josh Green at the Atlantic Monthly has some coverage of how this is playing in Kentucky. Since he wrote this, Paul has agreed to show up for the final debate against Conway. The ad may not be enough to tip the race to Conway, but it is helping him in the polls, not so much because of its message as because it’s thrown Paul off his own, successful message (attacking Obama and Democrats, who are very unpopular in Kentucky). It’s been compared to the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ad against John Kerry, which threw Kerry off-message and turned several weeks of the election into an argument over whether Kerry was doing enough to respond to the ads — thereby reinforcing the Bush campaign’s message that Kerry was a wishy-washy wimp.

The ad itself, of course, is shameless. Some have defended it by arguing that it makes a legitimate point, that Paul is not the religious guy he claims to be (“Rand Paul keeps Christ in his heart,” as Paul’s response ad says). Ayn Rand worship is, for obvious reasons, incompatible with strong religious belief. But that’s not the way the ad is putting it — it’s not just saying that Paul is a fraud, it’s saying that he worships false gods and that a litmus test for being a god-fearting man is supporting federal funding for anything “faith-based.” So it’s not an ad you would think liberals would rush to defend.

And some liberals are attacking the ad, but some are defending it — not the substance of the ad, but the tone and the take-no-prisoners attitude. As Green notes, it’s become a sort of online litmus test for liberals who Continue…

Creepy campaign ad of the day

By Luiza Ch. Savage - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 4:40 PM - 0 Comments

Campus Progress Action Calls on Citizens Against Government Wasteto Stop Blocking Our Video and Debate the Issues

Statement of Katie Andriulli, Communications Manager, Campus Progress Action:

“Last Thursday, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released a lavishly produced video, ‘Chinese Professor’ that seemed to argue that the stimulus bill, health care reform, and other recent policies would bankrupt America and lead to world domination by China.  CAGW announced a national media buy.  Later that day, Campus Progress Action produced a parody video, based on the original, poking fun at the apparently xenophobic tone of the CAGW video and suggesting that the Bush Administration’s fiscal irresponsibility and failure to halt corporate abuses were central to the weakening of the U.S. economy.

Instead of debating these issues on the merits, CAGW demanded that YouTube remove the Campus Progress Action video as a copyright violation.  Following its standard practices, YouTube has suspended the video.  Campus Progress Action has filed a counter-notification asking that its video be reinstated.

Our video is not a copyright violation.  It is a parody, addressing a matter of public policy, and is protected free speech.   Our purpose is to raise awareness on the issues, and to highlight the concern of young people that corporate interests threaten to drown out their voices.  The expensive CAGW video and ad campaign, and CAGW’s subsequent effort to use legal maneuvering to thwart debate, show that those concerns are warranted.

We have reposted our video on Vimeo.com – http://vimeo.com/16107218 — and we will continue to engage young Americans on the issues, and encourage them to speak out and to vote.   We ask CAGW to stop trying to stifle our speech and allow a free market of ideas.”

The ultimate bromance

By Patricia Treble - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 4:20 PM - 0 Comments

Colin Hutton/BBC

“Afghanistan or Iraq?” Mere seconds after being introduced to Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes deduces he is an army doctor, injured on the battlefield. He just isn’t sure which one. Watson is dumbfounded when Holmes continues: the injury is now psychosomatic and though he is in financial trouble, Watson can’t turn to his sibling, an alcoholic, because they are estranged. The sleuth is right, of course. He’s rarely wrong.

That’s the start of the charming and luxuriously complex reimagining of what co-creator Steven Moffat (Dr. Who’s showrunner) calls “the biggest hit in fiction”: Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery stories. In a daring move, Moffat and his creative partner in crime, Mark Gatiss, wrench Holmes from the constricting, archaic world of Victorian London, where he’d become “a dusty relic,” and plant him firmly in the 21st century, all the better to see the “modern, scary, cutting-edge young man” of the early books. Smartphones replace telegrams while an online blog subs for Watson’s journal.

This new Sherlock—which airs commercial-free on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery! starting Oct. 24—moves at a speed that rivals Holmes’s frenetic synaptic pace, enhanced by wearing three nicotine patches simultaneously. (“Impossible to sustain a smoking habit in London these days,” Holmes laments.)

Continue…

Russell Williams no longer a colonel

By Michael Friscolanti - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 4:07 PM - 0 Comments

Gen. Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff, issued a rally-the-troops message this afternoon to all soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen, outlining the administrative steps the Canadian Forces has taken against convicted killer Russell Williams. The disgraced air force colonel will not only be stripped of his rank, booted from the service, and forced to pay back his salary since the day of his arrest, but he is also the first officer in Canadian military history to have his commission revoked by the Governor-General.

The commander of CFB Trenton until his shocking arrest, Williams is now in a solitary jail cell at Kingston Penitentiary, serving the first days of a life sentence for a heinous string of sex crimes that included the brutal rape and murders of two women: Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old corporal stationed at his base; and Belleville, Ont., resident Jessica Lloyd, 27. In his memo, Natynczyk described the ordeal as “deeply upsetting,” but reiterated that there are no legal grounds to either revoke Williams’ hefty pension or subject him to a court-martial.

“I wish to point out that under the CF superannuation act, there are no grounds to revoke his pension and a court martial would not have any impact on these accrued benefits,” the general wrote. “Some have questioned why Mr. Williams has not also been charged under the military justice system. I believe we need to understand why this is so. This is because there is no jurisdiction under the code of service discipline to try persons charged with murder where those murders took place in Canada. Mr. Williams was therefore tried and convicted of all of these 88 charges under the Criminal Code of Canada by a civilian court. Additionally there will be no further court martial on these matters because the National Defence Act specifically prevents an individual from being tried by court martial where the offence or any other substantially similar offence arising out of the same underlying facts have been previously dealt with by a civilian court. This basic principle sometimes known as ‘double jeopardy’ is fundamental within our civilian and military justice system. With his current convictions and sentence to life imprisonment justice has already been served.”

Below is a copy of the Natynczyk’s complete email, obtained by Maclean’s:

CDS Message: Mr. Russell Williams

1. On 21 Oct 10, Mr. Russell Williams, former Commander of 8 Wing, was sentenced to two concurrent terms of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the first-degree murders of Cpl Marie France Comeau and Mrs. Jessica Lloyd.

2. The crimes committed by Mr. Williams are deeply upsetting to us all. Over the last few months, I have spoken with many of you in town halls across the country and on missions overseas. Like all Canadians, you and I have been shocked and repulsed by the crimes he committed.

3. During these conversations, you expressed your sympathy and compassion for the victims and the families affected by this terrible tragedy. I also listened to Canadian Forces personnel of all ranks as they expressed their bewilderment and anger at the betrayal of our institutional ethos of truth, duty, and valour. Because of his heinous crimes and his subsequent criminal conviction, Mr. Williams has lost the privilege of calling himself a member of the CF community.

4. With the conviction and sentencing completed, and following my recommendation, the Governor General has revoked his commission, an extraordinary and severe decision that may constitute a first of its kind in Canadian history.

5. Further, the following actions will now be taken:
A. Stripping Mr. Williams of his medals
B. Termination and recovery of his pay from the date of arrest
C. Denial of severance pay; and
D. His prompt release from the CF under “service misconduct” – which is the most serious release item possible.
6. As a consequence of his release from the CF for “service misconduct” and of the revocation of his commission, Mr. Williams no longer possesses a rank as a member of the CF.

7. I wish to point out that under the CF superannuation act, there are no grounds to revoke his pension and a court martial would not have any impact on these accrued benefits.

8. Some have questioned why Mr. Williams has not also been charged under the military justice system. I believe we need to understand why this is so. This is because there is no jurisdiction under the code of service discipline to try persons charged with murder where those murders took place in Canada. Mr. Williams was therefore tried and convicted of all of these 88 charges under the Criminal Code of Canada by a civilian court. Additionally there will be no further court martial on these matters because the National Defence Act specifically prevents an individual from being tried by court martial where the offence or any other substantially similar offence arising out of the same underlying facts have been previously dealt with by a civilian court. This basic principle sometimes known as “double jeopardy” is fundamental within our civilian and military justice system. With his current convictions and sentence to life imprisonment justice has already been served.

9. Now more than ever, this is a time for us to come together and heal as a community. We are doing everything we can to assist those in need of counselling or other support. I urge anyone who is feeling upset or concerned to seek assistance and to talk about it. While doing so, we will not forget Cpl Marie France Comeau, Mrs. Jessica Lloyd, and the many other victims and their families who will remain in our thoughts and prayers forever.

10. It is time to move forward, be strong and proud because the actions of Mr. Williams are not reflective of the values of the men and women who serve in the CF, whose integrity and self sacrifice come through loud and clear in words and deeds each day. Whether helping Canadians at home, abroad, or providing the hope of a better future to the people of Haiti, Africa or Afghanistan, I have seen our ethos of truth, duty, and valour at work and making a difference in the world. You have reason to hold your head high. Be strong and proud! I am proud to be your Chief of the Defence Staff.

General W.J. Natynczyk, CDS

The Ottawa Political Industrial Complex

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 3:58 PM - 0 Comments

In August, the Sun reported the findings of a “secret government survey.”

A day later, a CBC report, citing the government agency that conducted the survey, cast doubt on the relevance of the survey.

This week, the Sun, citing government sources, linked its reporting of the “secret government survey” to the government’s new immigration reforms.

Everybody wins.

Opening Weekend: 'Score' and 'Carlos'

By Brian D. Johnson - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 3:47 PM - 0 Comments

Noah Reid (centre), the star of 'Score: A Hockey Musical'

This weekend offers two “event” movies, both quite out of the ordinary. One is Carlos, a five-and-half-hour multilingual epic about the world’s first celebrity terrorist. You can see the full version only in Toronto, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (a two-and-a-half hour version will show in Vancouver). And though Carlos was produced as a mini-series for French television, I recommend you try to see it on the big screen. It’s a trip. Venuzuelan actor Edgar Ramirez gives one of the best performances you’ll see all year, speaking five languages, and transforming himself with a weight gain on a par with Robert De Niro in Raging Bull. If there’s any justice he’ll get an Oscar nomination. If you don’t have the access or inclination to see the theatrical version, this is one well worth catching up to on DVD.

The other event is less rare, and more parochial, but still no everyday occurrence: the ambitiously wide national release of a heavily promoted Canadian movie. Michael McGowan’s Score: A Hockey Musical opens on 130 screens across the country, which is a record for distributor Mongrel Media (also the nervy outfit behind the release Carlos). That’s double the number of screens that Mongrel booked for One Week, McGowan’s previous Canadiana confection. It’s almost up there in the Men With Brooms stratosphere (MWB opened in 150 theatres in 2002). Score‘s shameless attempt to pander to nationalist sentiment owes something to movies like Men With Brooms and One Week, as a reflecting-Canada-to-Canadians movie designed to play exclusively within our borders. But as a hockey musical, it stakes out a genre no Canadian movie has attempted. Score wears its national identity on its sleeve so proudly it’s hard to separate the movie from the marketing—there are times when this goofy celebration of Canada’s game plays like a jingoistic jingle. To not love Score feels almost unpatriotic.  But my opinion doesn’t matter. I know this because a representative for the film told me as much. “You’re not the audience,” she said, after I’d seen Score at the Toronto International Film Festival and expressed some reservations. Hey, I would like to think I’m part of the audience, but apparently I’m not The Audience. And certainly wasn’t part of The Audience at TIFF’s opening night gala premiere, where Hawksley Workman blew the roof off Roy Thompson Hall after the closing credits when he performed a sing-a-long version of the soundtrack tune Hockey, The Greatest Game in the Land, backed by a children’s choir and a blistering drum line. (It’s on YouTube.) Had I been there I’m sure I would have drunk the Kanuck Kool-Aid like everyone else and emerged a convert, running into the night singing lyrics like: “It’s part of our hearts, part of our psyche/Our country bleeds red, white and hockey.”

But alas, I saw Score at a press screening full of jaded critics.  For me, it was only a movie. I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Felt it was wildly uneven. But if the filmmakers and distributors are correct, critical opinion doesn’t mean squat in this case. The audience will deliver its resounding verdict at the box office. And then we’ll see if the country’s ardent belief in Our Game can overcome its chronic disbelief in the power of Canadian movies to entertain us. If Score does score at the box office, I suppose that counts for a lot. But there’s no excuse if it doesn’t. This film is fuelled by a strong release, a ton of promotion, not to mention a galaxy of cameo stars lining up with their support—including Nelly Furtado, Hawksley Workman, George Stroumboulopoulos, Evan Solomon, Walter Gretzky and Theo Fleury. At TIFF, I bumped into McGowan, the director, and promised to see Score with an audience before weighing in with a final review. Sorry, Mike, but I haven’t had a chance to do that. So for the record, here’s a slightly expanded version of what I wrote at the time of Score‘s TIFF premiere:

The notion of a hockey musical is both ingenious and outrageous, and much of the film’s charm lies in the sheer showbiz bravado of the concept, which is embodied by the central character—a home-schooled 17-year-old pacifist nerd named Farley (Noah Reid). To the dismay of his quirky, politically correct parents (Marc Jordan, Olivia Newton-John), Farley, who has never played team sports, is recruited to the big leagues by a wily old timer (Stephen McHattie). Overnight, he graduates from street-corner shinny to national stardom as the Next Great One, while mortifying hockey fans, and his coach, by refusing to defend his honour on the ice with his fists. Score is a meta movie, one that celebrates the fact of its own existence, wearing its post-modern concept like a team emblem. At its heart a terrific performance by Noah Reid. Not only can he skate and act; when he sings, he sounds like a young Paul Simon. And with an all-star roster of Canadian talent helping compose the songs, there are some good riffs to work with. But this is one hokey hockey movie. The lyrics are not as strong as the music. The cornball dialogue often falls flat. And the story goes way offside with a third-period resolution of the plot’s fundamental conflict that defies logic. Which is too bad. Because the script’s cavalier tone undermines the heartfelt conviction in Reid’s performance and in that of his young leading lady, Allie MacDonald. Even when a musical aims for outlandish farce, when hockey and young romance are in play, to engage emotionally, you still have to believe what’s happening. In the absence of believing in the story, or the characters, we are asked to believe in a patriotic equation between the Great Game and the Great Country. The result is not a great movie.

But here’s a YouTube movie of that Hawksley Workman sing-a-long:

Continue…

France still struggling with fuel shortages

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 1:39 PM - 0 Comments

French police stepped in to end a strikers’ blockade at a main oil refinery, as the Senate looks set to approve president Nicolas Sarkozy’s controversial pension reform on Friday. Regaining control of the strategic refinery at Grandpuits was part of the government’s efforts to contain the economic damage caused by union workers taking over oil depots and key oil terminals to protest the reform, which raises the retirement age from 60 to 62. Fuel shortages, however, are expected to last several more days. Discussion of the new pension plan lasted 130 hours in the Senate, the second-longest debate in 30 years.

Associated Press

G20 finance ministers looks to prevent "currency war"

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 1:35 PM - 0 Comments

A meeting of the finance ministers from the G20 group of leading economies kicks off today in Gyeongiu, South Korea, with the goal of averting a global “currency war.”  The spectre of such a scenario, which could upset the global economic recovery, arose after a series of aggressive market interventions this year by countries including Japan, Switzerland, Poland and Ukraine, which are trying to keep down the value of their currencies to make their exports more competitive on international markets. At the core of the currency issue is also a potential clash of titans between China, which has long been accused of manipulating its currency, and the U.S., which says China’s artificially cheap imports are swamping its domestic market.

Financial Times

Taliban network reaches South Korea

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 1:32 PM - 0 Comments

The Taliban’s network may be more far-reaching than first imagined. According to Korean intelligence officials, members of the Taliban were recently caught in Korea and more are believed to be working there in secret. This discovery has sparked security concerns less than three weeks before the G20 summit in Seoul. The Taliban members were caught seeking to export strategic weapons to Palestine, taking advantage of South Korea’s lax controls on strategic arms exports. Seoul authorities, working with Interpol, confiscated a ship carrying weapons right after it entered Palestine. One anonymous official said, “We believe more Taliban agents are in the country and are trying to track them down before the G20 summit.”

Korea Herald

What's the difference?

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 1:22 PM - 0 Comments

Here again is what Jack Layton said four years ago.

Here now is what Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who favours the complete withdrawal of Canadian Forces from Afghanistan in 2011, said today about recent reports of negotiations between the Karzai government and members of the Taliban. Continue…

State Dept: Clinton's words on Keystone stand

By Luiza Ch. Savage - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 12:19 PM - 0 Comments

US State Dept. spokesman Mark Toner was asked to respond to criticism of Hillary Clinton’s  comments that she is “inclined to” okay the Keystone XL pipeline even though the approval process is still underway.

Here was part of the exchange at the press briefing yesterday:

MR. TONER: Alberta Clipper pipeline was what the questioner asked about. She talked about – she – her response reflected the status of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is still under deliberation.

QUESTION: Right, correct. But she said that they were – that the Department is inclined to approve it. Did she not?

MR. TONER: She did.

QUESTION: Yes, okay. Well, there is some concern being expressed by lawmakers, environmentalists, and others that this prejudges the results of the review of – her comments.

MR. TONER: Well, my comments are that she – I think she also followed that with an assessment about the fact that we need cleaner energy sources and referred to the President’s agenda to seek cleaner energy sources, but until that time, we need to – frankly, to find energy sources in other areas as well, be they clean or dirty. And her words obviously stand.

**

Meanwhile, both of Nebraska’s senators are getting on the case. Democratic Senator Ben Nelson wrote to Clinton yesterday, “I am deeply concerned by your remarks last week to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, California, regarding the U.S. Department of State’s approval process for pipeline projects. … These comments strike me, and many of my fellow Nebraskans, as an indication that a decision has been reached on the Keystone XL pipeline before your agency has done a thorough study of the environmental impacts which the pipeline will have on Nebraska’s Sandhills and the Ogallala Aquifer.

Republican Senator Mike Johanns wrote, “While you acknowledged that you ‘haven’t finished all of the analysis’ and your staff indicated they are still reviewing ‘the thousands of comments we have received,’ your comment that the State Department ‘is inclined’ to grant approval for the pipeline appears to prejudge the outcome as a foregone conclusion … a premature decision of this magnitude is unfortunate, especially in light of the significant concerns I outlined to you in a letter the previous day regarding the proposed pathway of this pipeline.”

**

In other news, the NYTimes reports that Idahoans are suing to keep oil sands equipment heading to Alberta from passing along their roads:

“…The problem, said Mr. Laughy, is that the proposed loads are so large — and would travel so slowly — that they would literally block the highway as they rolled through. According to plans submitted to state regulators, some of the shipments would weigh more than 600,000 pounds, stand as tall as a three-story building, stretch nearly two-thirds the length of a football field and occupy 24 feet side-to-side — the full width of U.S. 12’s two lanes for much of its course through Idaho.”

Switzerland agrees to share tax info with Canada

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 12:10 PM - 0 Comments

Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with Swiss President Doris Leuthard Friday, with the pair agreeing to reduce trade barriers on airlines and to share more tax information. Both countries have now updated their air transportation treaties, which will allow airlines in both countries to change their prices more freely. Switzerland has also agreed to share more tax information with Canada starting in Jan. 2011. The new rules could help Canada catch tax cheaters who hide behind Switzerland’s strict confidentiality rules. Harper is in Kehrsatz, Swtizerland for the Francophonie Summit.

CTV News

Supreme Court rules journalists can protect sources in certain cases

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 12:06 PM - 0 Comments

In a major victory for journalists, The Supreme Court of Canada has decided that courts must “balance the importance of disclosure to the administration of justice against the public interest in maintaining journalistic source confidentiality.” The decision came after The Globe and Mail‘s Daniel Leblanc appealed an order by a Quebec Superior Court judge that he reveal the sources who tipped him off to the federal sponsorship scandal. Leblanc says he’s confident he will be able to prove to the lower court that there is a “public interest” in keeping the source confidential. Groupe Polygone Editeurs brought the original action against Leblanc, saying they had a right to know the identity of the source code-named “Ma Chouette,” because their business had been damaged as a result of the information. Groupe Polygone was one of the Liberal-friendly advertising firms that earned millions of taxpayer’s dollars from the federal government for work that was never completed.

CBC News

Our two dads

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 11:55 AM - 0 Comments

With a short introduction from yours truly, our excerpt of John Ralston Saul’s new book, Lafontaine & Baldwin, is now available online. The book is a fascinating and perhaps even important read, especially if, like yours truly, you were mostly unaware of the story.

Week in Pictures: October 15th – 22nd 2010

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 11:41 AM - 0 Comments

Accidental TV Theme Weeks

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 11:39 AM - 0 Comments

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that it was “religion week” on TV, where several shows on several different networks did religion-themed episodes. This week appears to have a similar theme on a smaller scale; it’s “hoarding week.” South Park did an episode about the phenomenon of hoarding — unusually, sort of treating it as a real thing instead of a fancy name made up by eggheads for normal human behaviour — and last night CSI (which really needs to beg William Petersen to come back) did an episode about the same thing, calling it “House of Hoarders.” Update: As Kenny points out in comments, Raising Hope did one a couple of weeks ago. Also he points out that a lot of this might be traceable to the A&E reality show “Hoarders,” making this yet another South Park story that Trey Parker got from watching a reality show.

[vodpod id=Video.4734830&w=640&h=385&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

It’s common for shows on the same network to theme weeks — apart from the natural ones like Halloween and Christmas — usually on network orders. You remember NBC’s “Green Week,” and before that they had special promotions like “four weddings and a funeral” night (NewsRadio was ordered to do the funeral episode, and responded by making it a funeral for a rat). It’s more interesting when shows just happen to deal with the same subject, on no one’s orders, just because these subjects happen to be on the minds of people who write TV. Of course, since South Park is written and produced so fast, they might just as easily have gotten the idea from learning that CSI was about to do a hoarding show. But who knows.

The greatest hoarder in the history of broadcasting was, presumably, Fibber McGee, though this clip shows why hoarding jokes are better left to radio.

In the fight against bacteria, are doctors being too careful?

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 10:57 AM - 0 Comments

Infectious disease experts and hospital epidemiologists have long relied on precautions to stop the spread of virulent bacteria, but methods of infection control (like hand washing, gowns, gloves, physical isolation, sometimes masks and eye protection) have now become routine in hospitals everywhere, the New York Times reports: up to one-quarter of all hospitalized patients face such restrictions. Doctors are starting to question the unintended consequences of this. In the latest issue of The Annals of Family Medicine, family practitioner Dr. Leif Hass contends the fear of contagion among physicians can actually compromise the quality of care: individuals in isolation have fewer interactions with clinicians, more delays in care, lower satisfaction levels, and higher levels of depression and anxiety. These can lead to complications and an increase of as much as 100 per cent in overall incidence of adverse events. Another study, from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, found the infection rate was identical whether health care workers wore gowns and gloves with only patients in isolations, or whether they wore only gloves with all patients.

New York Times

Moon water could be a useful resource, NASA says

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 10:52 AM - 0 Comments

Last year, a rocket and probe smashed into a lunar crater, kicking up large amounts of rock and dust that revealed many chemical compounds and about 155 kg of water vapour and ice, much more than was expected. A new analysis suggests the lunar regolith (soil) at the impact site contains 5.6 per cent by weight of water-ice. In the 10-km region around the impact site, that would be the equivalent about one billion gallons of water, one scientist estimated. They also found metals like sodium and mercury, and a trace amount of silver.

BBC News

Enough with the Hitler analogies, Tea Partiers

By macleans.ca - Friday, October 22, 2010 at 10:46 AM - 0 Comments

If there’s room for debate about whether the Tea Party is a populist movement worth taking seriously or a reactionary debasing of U.S. political discourse, on one matter there can be little argument: the obnoxious German history references have to stop. A conservative columnist compares Barack Obama’s Gulf oil spill reaction to Hitler’s approach—and Sarah Pallin applauds. A placard at a Tea Party rally shows Obama with Hitler—and also Lenin, just for good measure. TV rabble-rouser Glenn Beck makes the Hitler-Obama comparison routinely. And a Tea Party candidate in Alaska at least mixes up the German theme by citing the Berlin Wall, apparently favourably, as a model for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. All this and more distasteful stuff is pulled into context by the English-language website of Der Spiegel, where they know about the pitfalls of these grotesque misuses of vague historical notions.

Der Spiegel